Chinese acquisition of even a small British chip-maker now warrants international pressure.
Kwasi Kwarteng attending an official Gigafactory opening ceremony in Sheffield. Credit: UK Government
When it comes to the $590 billion global semiconductor industry, Newport Wafer Fab is a true minnow. Yet the future of this small, loss-making chip-making company based in South Wales, U.K., has become the center of an international storm.
On May 25, Britain’s Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng — the equivalent of the U.S.’s secretary of commerce — announced the government would undertake a full national security assessment of a deal struck in July last year — widely reported to be worth $79 million — in which ownership of Newport Water Fab was transferred to Nexperia, a Dutch company ultimately owned by Chinese technology firm Wingtech.This is a preview of the Wingtech corporate ownership page from WireScreen, the data division of The Wire. It's a subscription only service but this single page is unlocked for magazine subscribers.
Kwarteng’s decision to review this relatively small deal, over which the British government initially had few concerns, comes after mont
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